Military reports 8 additional coronavirus cases

Eight Army soldiers have tested positive for COVID-19, raising the total caseload reported among the military population to 1,973, the defense ministry said Tuesday. Six trainees at a boot camp in Yeoncheon, 62 kilometers north of Seoul, were found to have contracted the virus while in quarantine following the coronavirus outbreak in their unit. They were not fully vaccinated. An Army officer based in Yangju, north of Seoul, and an enlisted soldier stationed in Paju, 30 km north of the capital

Oct. 19, 2021

International defense exhibition kicks off, cutting-edge weapons on display

A biennial defense exhibition kicked off in Seongnam, south of Seoul, on Tuesday, offering an in-depth look at state-of-the-art military hardware like stealth jets, advanced missile interceptors and hydrogen-powered drones. The five-day Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition (ADEX) at Seoul Air Base comes amid lingering regional tensions from North Korea's evolving threats and an intensifying Sino-US rivalry. This year's edition is expected to provide a rare chance for defense

Oct. 19, 2021

USFK reports 23 additional COVID-19 cases among new arrivals

Twenty-three people affiliated with the US Forces Korea (USFK) who have recently arrived here have tested positive for COVID-19, the US military's infection tally showed Monday. Among arrivals from Sept. 22 to Oct. 14, seven service members and eight family members who landed at Osan Air Base on US government-chartered flights tested positive, according to the USFK. Another group of six service members and a Department of Defense employee, and a family member also tested positive upon arrival

Oct. 18, 2021

S. Korea to kick off large-scale defense exhibition

SEONGNAM -- South Korea will kick off a biennial defense exhibition this week to showcase cutting-edge military hardware and technologies, including stealth fighters, hydrogen-fuel drones and laser weapons, organizers said Monday. The Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition (ADEX) will begin its five-day run on Tuesday at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, just south of Seoul, as the security landscape in Northeast Asia is fraught with uncertainties stemming from a muscle-flexing China

Oct. 18, 2021

US general calls for strong space partnership with S. Korea

A top US military official called Monday for strong space cooperation with South Korea, stressing credible deterrence in the "contested" security domain comes from a robust partnership based on "mutual trust and shared values." Gen. Jay Raymond, the chief of Space Operations at the United Nations Space Force, made the call during a security forum in Seoul, as a Sino-US competition is intensifying with Beijing pushing to become a major space power. "A key part of credib

Oct. 18, 2021

Air Force chief meets with US officials ahead of major defense exhibition

South Korean Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Park In-ho met with a delegation of senior US military and defense officials in Seoul on Monday to discuss bilateral cooperation ahead of a biennial defense exhibition later this week, his office said. The talks with the US delegation, including Heidi H. Grant, director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, and DeAnna M. Burt, deputy commander of the Space Operations Command, came a day before the Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhib

Oct. 18, 2021

S. Korea to start deploying new hand-held mine detector next year

South Korea plans to start deploying a new military mine detector capable of locating non-metal objects, such as those made of wood, in the latter half of next year, the state arms procurement agency said Monday. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) signed a contract with local developer Hanwha Systems Co. last week to mass-produce the hand-held mine detector, as the military seeks to replace its aging detectors introduced in the late 1990s. Developed in December last year, th

Oct. 18, 2021

USFK reports 31 additional COVID-19 cases

Thirty-one people affiliated with the US Forces Korea (USFK) have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the US military's latest infection tally showed Friday. Among the new cases counted from Sept. 30 to Oct. 7 were 19 American troops, including those working at Camp Humphreys and Osan Air Base, both in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul. "All individuals are currently in isolation at a facility designated for confirmed COVID-19 cases," the US military said in a statement.

Oct. 15, 2021

Military reports 9 additional COVID-19 cases

South Korea's military reported nine additional COVID-19 cases Friday, bringing the total caseload among its personnel to 1,960, the defense ministry said. Six Army soldiers, including five trainees at boot camps, and a Navy member tested positive for the virus, according to military data. A civilian employee of the defense ministry in Seoul was also found to have contracted the virus. Since last week, three COVID-19 cases, including the latest, have been reported from the ministry compound.

Oct. 15, 2021

New head of military intelligence body named

Maj. Gen Lee Sang-chul, commander of the 5th Infantry Division, was named as the new chief of the military intelligence body, the defense ministry said Thursday. The incoming commander of the Defense Security Support Command (DSSC) will be promoted to lieutenant general, the ministry said. “He was selected because of his outstanding capability and leadership to complete the reform of the DSSC and lead the organization in a stable manner,” the ministry said in a statement. The D

Oct. 14, 2021

S. Korea to offer compensation to spy agents during Korean War

The defense ministry plans to provide financial compensation for South Koreans who operated in North Korea as part of US military intelligence units during the 1950-53 Korean War, officials said Thursday. The ministry will offer 10 million won ($8,400) each to the civilians who worked for the units, including the Korea Liaison Office (KLO), from 1948-1953, as they have been excluded from the compensation list due in part to limits in confirming their merit in foreign operations. During the wa

Oct. 14, 2021

Defects found in all 4 Global Hawk drones brought from US: lawmaker

South Korea has found defects in all of the four Global Hawk unmanned surveillance aircraft it has procured from the United States, a ruling party lawmaker said Thursday, calling for measures to ensure their stable operation. Citing data from the Air Force during a parliamentary audit, Rep. Ahn Gyu-back of the Democratic Party said that defects have been found in the drones an average of 10 times each. From December 2019 through September last year, South Korea brought in four Global Hawks und

Oct. 14, 2021

Military reports 8 additional COVID-19 cases

South Korea's military reported eight more COVID-19 cases Thursday, bringing the total caseload among its personnel to 1,951, the defense ministry said. Seven Army soldiers, including three trainees at a boot camp, and a Navy member tested positive for the new coronavirus, according to military data. The three Army trainees from the boot camp in Yeoncheon, 62 kilometers north of Seoul, were found to have contracted the virus while in quarantine following the COVID-19 outbreak in the unit. Of

Oct. 14, 2021

Sex crime victims need better front-line help: military panel

The military should adopt clearer rules to enable victims of sexual violence to find immediate care and avoid being repeatedly forced to deal with their abusers, an advisory panel said Wednesday, ending a monthslong mission to address rights abuses in the military. The panel, launched in June following the alleged cover-up of the suicide of an Air Force master sergeant who had reported a sexual assault, recommended that the military expand outside oversight as well, with a civilian voting membe

Oct. 13, 2021

Military reports 14 additional COVID-19 cases

South Korea's military reported 14 more COVID-19 cases Wednesday, the defense ministry said, bringing the total caseload among its personnel to 1,943. Thirteen Army soldiers, including five trainees at a boot camp, and an Air Force airman tested positive for the new coronavirus, according to military data Wednesday morning. The five Army trainees from the boot camp in Yeoncheon, 62 kilometers north of Seoul, were found to have contracted the virus while in quarantine following the COVID-19 out

Oct. 13, 2021

S. Korea, US agree to mull new defense dialogue on regional policy cooperation

South Korea and the United States have agreed to consider establishing a new bilateral working-level defense dialogue aimed at promoting cooperation between their regional policy initiatives, an informed source said Wednesday. The US floated the idea of instituting the unofficial dialogue channel during the allies' biannual defense talks, called the Korea-US Integrated Defense Dialogue, last month, as Washington pushes to rally its regional democratic allies to counter China's growing assertive

Oct. 13, 2021

Navy cut back on live-fire drills under Moon

The Navy has steadily scaled back exercises using live ammunition since President Moon Jae-in took office in 2017, a lawmaker said, amid concerns that Moon’s North Korea policy could affect combat readiness. Live ammunition was used 96 percent of the time in 2016, but the rate has since slowly fallen and hit 87 percent in 2020, according to Rep. Shin Won-sik of the main opposition People Power Party, citing data compiled by the Navy. The data was an average of the rates that live ammuni

Oct. 12, 2021

Five more soldiers at Army boot camp test positive for COVID-19

Five more draftees at an Army boot camp just south of the inter-Korean border have tested positive for the new coronavirus after cluster infections were reported at their base, the defense ministry said Monday. The new cases raised the number of infections reported at the boot camp in the border county of Yeoncheon to 39. Four soldiers in the southeastern city of Busan and one in the eastern coastal town of Yangyang were also confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 after virus cases were report

Oct. 11, 2021

Army boot camp in border town reports 22 new COVID-19 cases

Twenty-two draftees at an Army boot camp just south of the inter-Korean border have tested positive for COVID-19, the defense ministry said Friday. The newly enlisted soldiers at the boot camp of the Army's Fifth Division in the border county of Yeoncheon underwent coronavirus tests and were confirmed to have been infected, two days after a colleague was diagnosed with the virus, according to the ministry. All of them joined the military late last month, and only three of the 23 members received

Oct. 8, 2021

Key figures in Air Force suicide case avoid charges

Fifteen service members linked to the suicide of an Air Force master sergeant who claimed to have been sexually assaulted will be indicted, the Ministry of National Defense said Thursday, ending a monthslong investigation. But the 10 suspects accused of botching the initial investigation or bullying the victim when she was relocated upon the incident will not stand trial, because little evidence was found to press charges, the ministry said. The suspects include military police, prosecutors an

Oct. 7, 2021